


Sontar the Brave

by ClingingOntoAir



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 08:12:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14492655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClingingOntoAir/pseuds/ClingingOntoAir
Summary: Strax gets a new hobby.





	Sontar the Brave

“What have you got there, Strax?” Jenny asked offhandedly as Strax walked in front of the door to the library, her gaze focused on the book in front of her.  

“A souvenir from my travels!” Strax declared enthusiastically.

That got Jenny’s attention. It was usual for Strax to travel to Scotland on his weekends off, but he’d never brought anything back with him before. She hoped it wasn’t something she needed to be concerned about. Still, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “May I see?”

Strax rounded the doorway and approached her, proudly displaying the object in question in his arms. “It is a most glorious instrument of war!”

“…Well, you’re not wrong.” Jenny bit her lip to keep from laughing. Strax was indeed technically correct, because what he held in his arms was an impressive set of Highland bagpipes.

“I won it in a tournament.” Strax offered by way of explanation.

Jenny wondered what Strax had been told about the bagpipes, as well as why anyone would offer them as the prize for a brawling competition, but decided it was better not to ask. Instead, she said gently, “Strax… do you have any idea how to play?”

“No!” He brandished a thin book in front of her, containing what looked like music. “But I am going to learn!”

Well, Jenny had been thinking that he needed a hobby. That is to say, a non-destructive hobby. And Strax looked so eager and determined, who was she to deny him? Even if she didn’t think he would get very far, he could still try. “Best of luck, then,” Jenny smiled, genuinely meaning it. _As long as I’m not the one to tell Vastra._

* * *

 

“I don’t know what to do about him,” said Vastra.

“I thought this would be good for him, but I’ve never seen Strax act like this before,” Jenny agreed. Convincing Vastra to let Strax play had actually been the easy part, for two reasons. One, she thought he could do with a constructive hobby as well, and was willing to support him as he tried it out. And two, Vastra had no idea what the bagpipes were actually supposed to sound like.

She still didn’t, as it turned out. Not for a lack of trying on Strax’s part. He had no trouble producing enough air to maintain a steady flow through the bag, but he could only really sound one note, on account of his fingers being rather too large for the chanter’s small holes. The fingering diagrams in the booklet were of no help to someone with six fingers instead of ten.

Instead of becoming angry like Jenny or Vastra might have expected, the frustration just made Strax sad. Despondent, even. Every so often he would pick up the pipes again as if expecting a different outcome, then sigh and walk away.

He turned down Jenny’s offer to go glass ball shooting together, which is when they knew it was bad. Angry Strax they could have handled, but mopey Strax? Vastra did not feel in the least bit equipped to deal with this.

“Well, I don’t want to say that I’m desperate, but I also don’t want this to get any worse,” Vastra reasoned. So she did the only thing she could think of, and called the Doctor.

* * *

The three of them stood in the doorway to the TARDIS, in varying states nervous anticipation. The Doctor had said he might be able to work something out, but could Strax handle the disappointment if it didn’t? Maybe they should have suggested another instrument instead—one that required fewer fingers to play, like trombone.

However, Strax really seemed to have his heart set on playing the bagpipes. If he thought about it closely enough, he would have said that it made him feel connected to his old military regiment as well as to the people of Earth, and that was a new feeling for someone who still experienced culture shock practically every time he went outside. He wasn’t going to tell the Doctor that, though.

Soon enough, the man himself emerged from behind the console, looking frazzled as usual but also slightly wistful for reasons unknown to the Paternoster Gang.

“Hello!” the Doctor waved with one arm as he made his way over to the door, holding a mostly old-looking but obviously well-cared for practice chanter tightly in the other. “Here,” he said, presenting it to Strax. “I used to play recorder with… well, never mind. I don’t think he’d object to you having it.” He decided not to mention the incident with the Sontarans, the Androgums, and two versions of himself. “And I’ve made some modifications, see?”

The holes on the chanter had been enlarged to accommodate Strax’s three fingers. The Doctor couldn’t do anything about the relative spacing, as that would affect the sound, but he had added some sort of electronic component that looked like a small circuit board on the back. “This’ll detect small changes in the position of your fingers. With some practice, you should be able to hit all the notes just fine!” The Doctor beamed, proud of his solution.

“Thank you.” Strax accepted his gift gruffly. He made an effort not to look like he wanted to try it out right away, but the Doctor noticed.

“Go on, give it a go! I’ll show you how the adjustments work.” The Doctor matched his fingers to Strax’s as he tested it out, indicating the new fingering positions and how to make different notes with the electronic supplement. Because of his previous efforts, Strax was actually able to pick it up rather quickly, and played a simple three-note tune.

Jenny and Vastra were duly impressed, smiling and clapping at appropriate intervals. The Doctor grinned widely. “That’s the ticket!”

He also chose that moment to give Strax a hearty thump on the back, causing him to spit out the chanter, which gave an unpleasant squeak. But when Strax looked up, he was grinning too.

It took a lot of practice, but Strax had never shied from repetitive tasks and certainly never backed down from a challenge. In time, to everyone’s surprise except possibly his own, Strax became quite an accomplished piper.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this instead of practicing the bagpipes.


End file.
